BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 27. Azerbaijan's local expenditures were executed less than forecasted last year, and as in the previous year, the highest execution amount was recorded in December, the opinion of the Chamber of Accounts on the draft law "On the implementation of the state budget for 2024" said, Trend reports.
During the reporting year, local expenditures in cities and districts amounted to 738.6 million manat ($438 million), which is 5.9 percent less than the forecasted amount and 22,000 manat ($13,000) less than the previous year’s actual spending.
The annual report on the state budget execution links the lower-than-forecast local spending mainly to vacant positions in local executive bodies, the short service duration and lower qualification grades of newly appointed civil servants, and savings in housing and communal services, including landscaping, waste collection, processing, and cleaning, street and park lighting, planting greenery, and other beautification work.
According to the data, by functional classification, the largest shares of local expenditures were in “Environmental Protection” (33.8 percent), “General Government Services” (27.8 percent), and “Housing and Communal Services” (27.4 percent). By economic classification, the biggest shares were for goods and services purchases (51.9 percent), wages (26.5 percent), and non-financial assets (14.1 percent).
Monthly execution rates of local expenditures varied between 34.3 percent and 125.4 percent, exceeding forecasts in five months.
The highest local spending was recorded in December, accounting for 21.3 percent of total local expenditures, amounting to 157 million manat ($93 million). The lowest execution rate and amount were observed in January at 1.4 percent and 10.5 million manat ($6.2 million), respectively.
